Giveaways

December 10, 2012

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I usually only do giveaways during the holidays and only ever using products that I absolutely love, believe in and stand-by. My litmus test is that they must withstand heavy use and abuse in my home kitchen over an extended period of time.

Which is why 9 times out of 10, the giveaways usually include products from companies such as Emile Henry, Mauviel, Wusthof & Microplane.

March 25, 2012

However, if I were a member of the founding families to first step foot in the new world, knowing my propensity for lateness, I have no doubt I would have missed the Mayflower all together and would have been left high and dry on the banks in hope that the Juneflower would leave next.

Needless to say, no one from my family arrived on US soil prior to the 1900's.

And therefore having explained what seems to be coded into my genetic framework, it should come as no surprise that the Weave A Thousand Flavors facebook fan page made its debut 2 years after I began this blog. Shameful!

So now I need your help to please help spread the word or the 'LIKE' if you will.

The facebook link that is prominently displayed in the right hand sidebar at the top of the page -

And as a THANK YOU for your support and efforts, I am thrilled to host this GIVEAWAY thanks to Workman Publishing with this wonderful cookbook.

for all of you who have put up with my ups and downs, my oohs and my aahs whilst serving the world on a plate for all of two years now.

That's right, WEAVE A THOUSAND FLAVORS is now officially a toddler and is in the terrible two's so expect a year full of frequent mood changes and temper tantrums. Hang on a minute, isn't that where we've already been these last two years? So not only do we have a toddler on our hands, it seems we have a dysfunctional one!

Well what a two years it's been - for one, depending on whom you're talking to, we've gone from Obama to Heybama to Boobama! And no we aren't entering a world of political discourse on the blog, I'm just sayin'.

As for me, I can't wait to for another year of delicious, challenging and always fun eats, stories and more of hearing from all of you. The fact that we're still here goes to show how much your support, your comments, emails and friendship means to me.

Now I know that you all are just at a point when the post-holiday-blues are about to set in - no more gifts with Santa safely retired to the North pole for his year long zzzz......, so it is nothing short of providential that SARGENTO cheese has graciously offered one of my readers a whole years worth of free cheese!

So Say Fromage People!

That's 52 SARGENTO cheese coupons for one lucky winner that will entitle you to shop for Sargento's wide range of cheese products to your hearts content.

Apologies to my International readers but this ones only valid for folks in the US only.

Now, the important part – To Enter: You can enter in one of three ways -

If you are a fellow blogger please pass the word along on your blog/fan page etc

Post a comment here letting me know which option above you chose and what your favorite cheesey dish is. If you already are a subscriber, follower, or 'like' Weave A Thousand Flavors on Facebook, just leave a comment indicating that – it will count as your entry.

This giveaway will be open until Friday, January 15th 2012 at 11:59pm PST. I’ll be announcing the winner on shortly thereafter.

October 18, 2011

One who not only visits but rewards you a USD 50.00 Amazon gift ard just for saying hello right here in the comments section?

Sigh! I wish all of life's quandaries were this simple. Never the less with all this talk of economic doom, gloom and people running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to make sense of this financial cesspit, its nice to know there are simpler things in life that can put a smile on ones face.

So when the fairy Hobmother from appliancesonline in the UK paid me a visit and not only gifted me this very thoughtful 50 dollar gift card but actually offered to share the love with my followers, who was I to say no?

So go on, leave a thought or two and you might be the next person the fairy hobmother might visit.

That being said, we must now return to the topic at hand - that being stinkin' room mates. I am of the opinion that hellish room mates are an important rite of passage I think - a reminder that have left the sanctuary of our parents and now very much on our own (for most part) in the big bad world. The older we get, these colorful characters fade into distant memories only to leap forward by some odd event or in my case a particular sort of food.

I was in my twenties, alone in Singapore and I was at the brink of my many firsts. My other room mate and I decided that we really ought to sublet the vacant third bedroom to generate some extra income to pay rent and of course we wanted a girl, non-smoker, professional and an expat like ourselves.

Our advertisement was answered by Kathy - a pofessional woman of English-Korean heritage who on the surface fit the bill perfectly. And so it was with great relish that we welcomed the first occupant to the the third bedroom. Now, you all know what they say about first impressions....

Anyway, into the first month while we were still in the 'honeymoon phase' Kathy announced that she would invite over some of her friends to have dinner with us and make a classic English dinner. She made lovely salmon cakes, minted peas, roasted potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

It's a good thing that all this loveliness unfolded in the first month - because you see Kathy didn't last with us long enough to see her third! After putting up with a shattered toilet seat, stripped wall paper from her bedroom (need I remind you it all belonged to the apartment owner) flooding the kitchen with 6 inches of water because she forgot to turn off the tap, we were done!

We packed her off and all that she's left me with is this story and her Mum's recipe for Yorkshire puddings. So here we go but before I do, don't forget to leave me a thought or two!

July 06, 2011

They are to me a representation of Nature's whimsy. A flying insect whose butt lights up!

How can you not smile?

This weekend after hours on end of lazing in the pool and flipping burgers and sinking my teeth into fresh corn, those yummy berry parcels and nectar-like morsels of mango, I have yet another reason to be grateful & to smile ~

Now this is the part I hate. Yup, it's my 'kumbaya', 'Aquarius' gene running rampant again but choosing a winner for me is like pulling teeth. (I can almost hear my father growling and Bill Gates will probably never hire me) But I wish we lived in a world where there are no winners and no losers. Alas! That is not to be. Having said so I can almost hear that idiom about wishes and flying beggars whizzing around in my head.

So before we get down to it, I want to thank each and every one of my delightful blogger friends for submitting your recipes. Look at what a wonderful parade of strawberry recipes we now have to choose from this summer.

But instead of the just 1 winner, I have decided to choose 3!

So for sheer ingenuity and originality, Winner # 1 of the June, Strawberry Battle is ~

But for the folks down under, summer brings the promise of these and along with it all yet another joy, especially for us cooks. Farmer's markets, fresh produce which for me especially translates into days of stocking up on summer berries.

﻿I have no doubt that by the time autumn rolls in, you will have had enough of me and my berriful recipes. Every week I find yet another excuse to incorporate black, blue or straw - berries into a dessert or cake so much so that my kids have stopped asking what they can have for snack. They know well enough they'll either be chowing down a bowl of the fruit or digging into some berry-concoction or the other.

﻿And yet, you know me to be of discriminating tastes and of the plethora of recipes that grace our seasonal kitchen, I have my favorites - kinda like the 'bill of rights' of my culinary world.

﻿I am embarrassed to say that this crumble cake right here is one I disguise in oh so many ways and sneak it back into our weekly rotation. I am waiting for the days when my kids finally wise up to the fact that their Mum is actually baking the same cake over and over again, disguised under a blanket of crumble, sometimes without and always switching the seasonal fruit around.

﻿So when Ananda at A Pinch of Love whose culinary skills when it comes to cakes and desserts far out weighs mine and the magic she wields with the camera leaves me panting, announced me as the winner of her Zucchini contest, I was surprised and delighted! Yippee!!! And then she asked me to host a contest of my own!

I had little choice but to turn to my love of summer fruit and announce the secret ingredient for the June 2011 contest to be, the ruby of summer berries -strawberries!

Strawberry time will be held throughout the month of June on Weave A Thousand Flavors. Entry. Submissions begin on June 6 - June 30, 2011, 11:59pm PST and I will announce the winner who may choose to host the next month’s edition of this contest on July 1st, 2011. We are all too busy with our lives for me to make this compulsory. Open to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Only one entry per person & please link back to this post on your blog.

The entry does not have to be a new post and may be an archived post.

And what may you win?

My favorite, gourmet 'secret ingredient' for your pantry!

Thank You!

﻿I for one can't wait to see what you kitchen divas come up once you don on your culinary thinking caps and bring out the creative 'strawberry side' of you, here is my favorite strawberry recipe to inspire you to kick up those creative juices.

Humble as it may be but I bet you anything, you too will be trying to sneak this back on weekly rotation and potlucks more often than not!

And because I hate clutter, I want dishes that
can be used for more than one kind of dish - I am going to bake a
lasagna and expect the same pan to work for a crumble and the pie dish
to work for a crostata.

In some ways it is fitting that as the blog has reached its 6 month mark, I have been noticeably absent.

Since I began the blog, this has been my first week off from all things blog related. As much as I love writing & cooking about food & paying a visit to my fellow foodie bloggers, I enjoy spontaneous trips in equal measure.

So as the long holiday weekend approached here in the US and coincided with the kids starting their summer holidays and the 6 month blog birthday, we decided to get away from it all. And when I mean get away, I mean get away - no cell phones, no wi-fi & a just a brush with civilization.

And so off we went to a place we have wanted to visit for a very long time.

Now because of its remote location, the travel also involved one my favorite aspects, a road trip.

I love road trips - there is nothing more exhilarating than watching the road disappear below ones wheels, the anticipation that fills the air as you calculate the remaining distances on a map, endless cups of java picked up at truck stops, the squeals of delights from the back seat because we passed grazing cows, the crunch of crispy potato chips, the endless potty breaks (of course) if you're traveling with little ones like we were but more than all of this - the opportunity to be surprised, not knowing what awaits you as you turn the corner.

As we drove down the winding road that cuts through the belly of the vast expanses and stunning views, Mr. Hubby looked me and asked, "Do you hear that" and I asked "What?" And he said, "Silence".

So though this post is not about food - it about
what inspires us, what humbles us & what awes us. 'The food for the
soul' which is just as important if not more than 'the food for the belly'.

As for recipes, we will return to it soon enough! So fix yourself a cuppa & enjoy....

Only a Visitor

From here, for as long as the eye can see, is "designated wilderness" - park lands governed by the strictest preservation standards. What makes this place so special?

Vastness, solitude, wildness & challenge

It is more than legislated lines drawn on a map. Here, is an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor & does not remain.

US Wilderness Act, 1964

The Ocotillo Patch - These wonderful deciduous shrubs with beautiful red flowers on their tips, drop their leaves as many as 5 times a year

Vast expanses, stunning views

The park is full of rocks that look like weather beaten ruins

Nothing quite like the Cholla - these beauties come with a warning. Even the slightesttouch will result in thorns embedded in the flesh that are painful & nearly impossible to remove.